As part of ongoing problem identification and program evaluation, each year TxDOT commissions a statewide Attitude and Awareness of Traffic Safety Issues survey to assess perceptions, attitudes, knowledge, and self-reported behaviors related to traffic safety, as well as awareness of traffic safety campaigns. The survey primarily focuses on impaired driving, seat belt use, and speeding, as these behaviors collectively contribute to the majority of traffic fatalities and serious injuries in Texas.
Benefits to Texas Transportation Safety
The Texas Traffic Safety Attitude and Awareness Survey provides key insights that directly inform and potentially enhance traffic safety initiatives across the state. By capturing public perceptions, awareness levels, and self-reported behaviors related to seat belt use, speeding, impaired driving, and other safety issues, the survey facilitates TxDOT and its partners in evaluating the effectiveness of current enforcement and education campaigns. The 2025 findings, for example, revealed high recognition of the “Click It or Ticket” campaign and high self-report seat belt use, but also highlighted persistent risky behaviors such as speeding and distracted driving. These results also help identify areas where public education and enforcement efforts can be strengthened, such as improving awareness of the Move Over or Slow Down law and addressing misconceptions about pedestrian right-of-way. Ultimately, the survey supports data-driven decision-making, helping TxDOT allocate resources more effectively and tailor strategies to improve roadway safety for all Texans.
Project Need and Approach
The need for the 2025 Texas Traffic Safety Attitude and Awareness Survey stems from the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) goal to monitor and evaluate public attitudes, awareness, and self-reported behaviors related to traffic safety. This type of survey is recommended by both the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as a valuable tool for assessing performance measures tied to highway safety plans. Surveys like this provide insights into public perceptions of law enforcement, awareness of safety campaigns, and behavioral trends among drivers.
The federal government requires states to use performance measures to track progress on traffic safety goals. The Governors Highway Safety Association and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommend a core set of performance measures, including surveys, to assess driver attitudes and awareness of traffic safety programs. To meet these objectives, TxDOT partnered with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) to conduct a baseline survey in 2010 and follow-up surveys in subsequent years. Initially, data collection was conducted in person at Driver License offices across Texas using pen-and-paper surveys. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the methodology shifted in 2020 to an online format, which has continued through 2025. The online survey was administered using a statewide panel, ensuring representation across four geographic regions (North, South, East, and West) while maintaining anonymity and cost-effectiveness.
The 2025 survey included ten core questions recommended by NHTSA, along with demographic items and additional questions tailored to Texas-specific traffic safety concerns. The survey was conducted over a six-day period in July 2025. The annual replication of the survey ensures continuity with previous years’ data while adapting to changing conditions and maintaining the integrity of the survey’s longitudinal analysis.
Project Activities
2025
The online survey was conducted from July 15–20, 2025, and achieved its target of 2,500 completed responses, with at least 600 valid completions per region. Key results are summarized as follows:
- The Click It or Ticket message remains the most highly recognized of 12 traffic safety campaign messages used in Texas, with 81.2 percent of respondents saying they had seen or heard it within the past year. Exposure recall was highest in the West region. In Nueces County, 95.2 percent of respondents reported they had seen or heard the Click It or Ticket message in the past year.
- 90 percent of respondents believed there is some likelihood of a citation for speeding and 86.6 saw some likelihood of a citation for seat belt law non-compliance. 94 percent of respondents reported they always or nearly always use seat belts. However, 75 percent said they exceed the speed limit on high-speed roads (70mph) and 79 percent said they exceed the speed limit on lower speed roads (30mph).
- Sixteen percent (15.6%) of the sample said their tendency to speed had increased in the past year, with primary reasons given as being in a hurry, always running late, and because they like to speed.
- Perceived likelihood of arrest for impaired driving was higher than being cited for speeding or not wearing a seat belt, with 94.1 percent checking some likelihood of arrest. Over 11 percent (11.4) said they had a tendency to drink and drive more often than a year ago, and the reason most often checked was ‘to relax’ (27.9%).
- Self-reported cell phone use among drivers is most common relative to other traffic safety risk behaviors. A quarter (25.1 percent) of respondents said they had sometimes or regularly talked on their cell phone while driving during the past month.
- Self-reported texting while driving was reported by 16.8 percent of respondents who said they had sometimes or regularly read or sent a text message in the past 30 days while driving. 37 percent said they were texting much less often now than a year ago, primarily because they are driving more carefully or are more aware of other dangerous drivers on the road now.
- Texans surveyed are most familiar with the seat belt law requirement for use in all seating positions, with 79.5 percent answering correctly. They are less familiar with the texting ban as applicable to all roads, with 69.1 percent answering correctly. They are less knowledgeable as well with the Texas Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) limit of .08, with 51.3 percent checking the correct answer.
- The Texas Move Over or Slow Down law is misunderstood by a substantial number of Texans, as indicated by the high percentage (40.2%) who associate the law with moving over to let faster moving or emergency vehicles pass.
- One-third of respondents selected a response other than the correct statement that ‘Drivers are required by law to stop and yield for pedestrians in crosswalks.’
2024
This grant repeated some prior survey content but added questions customized for 2024. TTI designed the 2024 survey instrument to include the core questions recommended by NHTSA as well as questions of importance to TxDOT’s traffic safety problem identification, planning, and evaluation efforts. The survey was conducted July 19–26, 2024.
Following data collection, duplicate and disqualifying responses were removed, leaving a sample of 2,627 valid respondents. The survey’s findings tracked changes in awareness and behavior, informing the development of targeted safety initiatives and countermeasures for emerging traffic safety challenges in Texas.
Project Title: Statewide Driver Attitude and Awareness Survey
Project Start and End Dates: October 1, 2010 – Present
Author List: Katie Womack
Sponsor/Funding Source: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)